Universal dividing head quadeant



May 26, 1936,

H. R. ISLER 2,042,258

UNIVERSAL DIVIDING HEAD QUADRANT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 12, 1952 May 26, 1936. H. R. lSLER UNIVERSAL DIVIDING HEAD QUADRANT I 3 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed May 12, 1932 Patented May 26, 1936 SQ TAT ES RA M OFFICE This invention deals with drive mechanism for machine tools and contemplates an improved quadrant which may be applied to any sizeof milling machine for coupling the table drive 5 member to any ofthe various sizes of attachments, such as dividing heads, spiral milling attachments, etc., that are adapted to be mounted on the table for power actuation thereby eliminating the necessity for carrying in stock a plu- 10 rality of different size quadrants for a group of various size machines.

Another object of this invention is to provide a quadrant that is universally applicable to all sizes of milling machines for operatively coupling the table lead screw thereof to'a table attachment; and that has a drive mechanism which is arranged in such a manner that the same change gears may be used for effecting a desired rate of rotation in the attachment per unit of table feed, irrespective of the pitch of the table lead screw, thereby eliminating the necessity of making corrections for different pitch lead screws whendetermining the change gears that will yield a given rate.

A further object of this. invention is to provide an improved'qua'drant for milling machines embodying rate change and reverse mechanism which is completely inclosed at all times whereby the parts will be fully protected from foreign materials; and whereby injury to the operator from exposed moving 'parts will be eliminated.

An additional objectof this invention is to provide mechanism of the class described which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture'and which may be easily and quickly attached or removed at the will of the operator.

Other obj ects and advantages of the present invention should be readily apparent by reference to the following specification, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrative of one embodiment thereof, but it will be understood that any modifications may be made in the specific structural details within the scope 45 of the appended claims, without departing from or exceeding the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like or similar parts:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a machine tool show- 50 ing the device of this invention attached thereto. Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detailed section of the reversing mechanism as viewed on the line 33 of Fig- Figure 4 is an expanded view of the transmission mounted in the quadrant.

Figure 5 is a detailed view of the sweep arm.

Figure 6 is a detailed view of the adapter plate.

Since milling machines vary in size and power, it follows that the work table as well as the lead screw therefor will also vary in size and pitch, some machines having for instance a half-inch pitch lead screw and others a quarter-inch pitch lead screw. Also the distance'between the axis 10 of the lead screw and the supporting surface of the table will vary in accordance with the thickness of the table necessary to develop the proper strength for the particular machine. This variation in the pitch of the lead screw results in the table traveling different distances for one revolution of the screw.

Dividing heads and other attachments for milling machines will also vary with the size of the machine, powerful machines having large, heavybuilt fixtures while lighter machinesare provided with correspondingly lighter fixtures. This means that the center of the drive shaft of the various fixtures will vary in height above the supporting surface of the table.

Broadly, therefore, this invention proposes a detachable quadrant of universal application which may be mounted on the end of a milling machine table for coupling the lead screw thereof with any size of fixture ordinarily used with such machine for power operation thereof. This quadrant is provided with a change gear transmission, any combination of gears of which will produce a given rate of rotation in .a driven member which will be the same irrespective of the pitch of the lead screwor the height of the attachment of the machine to which it is attached. This is accomplished by providing a compensator between the lead screw and the change gear transmission which is adjusted when the quadrant is attached to the machine to correct for'any lead screw which varies in pitch from the standard upon which the change gear mechanisiii'is based. It is not necessary to provide an additional compensator between the change speed transmission and the attachment for the reason that practically all commercial attachments now in use have the same ratio of gearing between the input shaft and its final driven member.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the quadrant comprises a main frame or quadrant plate 10 having anti-frictiohally journaled therein a primary shaft I l The lower part of the plate has secured therein a second anti-friction bearing 2 in which is journaled a gear l3, this gear having an elonpitch lead screw, and therefore a quarter-inchlead screw would be connected to the primary shaft in a one-to-one ratio. For other pitches of lead screws the proper ratio of gearing is utilized to bring about this common result: For example, if the lead screw had a one-half inch pitch, then the gear I3 would be in a two-to-one ratio to the gear I8, as shown in Figure 4 of the drawmgs.

Since the diameter of the gear I3 will therefore vary, while the diameter of the gear I8 and its location on shaft II is fixed, it will be apparent that means must be provided intermediate these two gears for compensating for this variance in size of one gear in order to effect an operative connection between the two. For this reason an eccentric bearing carrier I9 is provided having a main circular portion which is adapted to 7: neatly fit in a circular bore 2I formed in the quadrant plate. An integral stud shaft 22 projects from the inner face of the plate, the center of which is eccentric with respect'to the center of the circular body portion 28. An opening 20 is formed in the rear wall of the quadrant plate to permit access to the-interior of the quadrant box and aid in assembly of the carrier. The carrier is provided with a diametrical rib 23 having screws 24 passing through'opposite ends thereof A plu 22 is forced into the opening 20 for closing the same and assists in holding the parts in position. The relation of the axis of the shaft 22 with respect to the axis of the carrier 20 is such that when the carrier is in the position shown in Figure 4 the gear 25 anti-frictionally mounted thereon will effect a power transmitting connection between the gear I3 and the gear I8 while if the carrier 28 is rotated 180, the axis of the shaft 22 I will be lowered to a position midway between the center of gear I3 and the center of shaft II, so that a gear I3 of equal size to the gear I8 may be mounted in the bearing I2 and an intermediate idler mounted on the shaft 22 for coupling the gears I3 and I8 together. It will thus be seen that the carrier 20 is provided with two positions, one of which will effect connection between a half-inch pitch lead screw and the shaft I I, and the other position will effect connection between a quarter-inch pitch lead screw and the shaft I I, both of which will effect the same rotation in the shaft II for a given longitudinal movement of the table irrespective of the number of revolutions of the lead screw necessary to effect that longitudinal movement. From this it will be seen that the shaft could be provided with other positions to take care of other variations in sizes of lead screw although the two mentioned include practically all of the present standard machines upon the market.

A reversing mechanism has been provided for effecting rotation of the shaft II in either one of two directions. To this end an idler shaft 26 is journaled in anti-friction bearings carried by the frame parallel to the shaft I I. This idler shaft is arranged parallel to the shaft II, .and at the same radial distance from the center of the gear 25 as the shaft II is. Fixed to one end of the idler, is a gear 21 which is of the same size and. pitch as the gear I8 so that upon rotation of the gear 25 both of these gears will be rotated simultaneously and in the same direction. A second gear 28 is secured to the other end of shaft 26, this gear being adapted to mesh with a shiftable gear 29 of equal size splined on the shaft II and formed integral with the gear I8. Movement of gear 29 to the left as viewed in Figure 4 will withdraw gear I 8 from engagement with gear 25. Since the gears I8 and 21 are rotated in the same direction by the gear 25, it will be seen that withdrawing gear I8 out of'driving engagement will cause the shaft II to rotate in the opposite direction upon the gear 29 meshing with gear 28..

The gear couplet 29I 8 is adapted to be shifted by mechanism illustrated in Figure 3 comprising the rock shaft 30 which is journaled in the plate ID at right angles to the shaft II. The shaft 30 is provided on the interior end thereof with an eccentric pin 3| adapted to operatively engage the; annular groove 32 formed in the couplet between; the gears. The outer end of shaft 30 has a han die 33 pinned thereto for effecting rotation of the shaft; and since the axis of the shaft is mid, way between the two extreme positions of; the couplet, it will be apparent that the shaft must be rotated through to effect shifting of the couplet from one position to the other. In order to insure proper location of the parts and to guide, the operator in making the reverse, the rear of the frame I0 is provided with a pair of bosses} particular spiral milling head, dividing head or other attachment mounted on the table, The size of this opening is considerably enlarged because of the wide variation in sizes and types of attachments, it being necessary to provide for some 15 or 20 different locations which the axis of this shaft might take. This bracket carries the input drive shaft of the attachment and the opening permits this bracket to project inside the quadrant so that the end of the drive shaft is substan tially in the plane of change gear mechanism carried by the frame III. In order to provide for variations in the rate of rotation of the attach ment with respect to the travel of the table, a, change gear mechanism has been interposed between the shaft I I and the shaft 31 of the drive bracket 38.

To this end the shaft II has been projected through the supporting wall 39 for receiving on its other end a change gear 40 which is keyed thereon and held in position by a washer M and nut 42.

A sweep arm 43, shown more particularly in Figure 5, is provided with a laterally projecting boss 41 which has an annular finished surface 48 fitting a bore 49 formed on the wall 39 forming a pivot about which the arm may be rotated. The boss 41 is counter-bored at 50 to receive the antifriction bearing 5I in which one end of the shaft I I is journaled for rotation. As shown in Figure 5, the sweep arm is in the form of a bell crank having one arm 52, in which is formed a longitudinal T-slot 53, and a second arm 54 in which isrformed on arcuate slot 55.

A T-bolt 56 is mounted in the slot 53 for carrying a bushing 51 upon which is mounted a pair pfchange gears 58 and 58, one gear 58 of which the size of the change gears will vary for different rates, it is necessary that the arm be pivotally mounted so that it may be swung through an arc vto effect engagement of the particular gears being utilized. A clamping bolt 15 is therefore threaded in the wall 39 passing through the arcuate slot 55-for clamping the sweep arm in any one of its various positions.

As previously mentioned, the quadrant plate In .isprovided with a large opening 36 to receive the drive shaft bracket 38 of the particular attachment-and since this opening is on the side of the device adjacent the. cutting, chips or other foreign material may accidentally pass through this opening and clog the gears. It is therefore proposed to use an adapter or closure plate 6!, shown in detail in Figure 6, the plate having a hole 62 formed therein which is of sufiicient size to neatly fit the shank of the drive shaft bracket of the various attachments. Also formed in this plate is a pair of longitudinally aligned slots 63 and E i formed adjacent one edge 65 of the plate, and a second pair of longitudinally aligned slots 66 and 61 formed adjacent the opposite edge 68 of the plate, the slots 63 and 64 being closer on a horizontal line to the center of the hole 62 than the slots 61 and 66. On the other hand, the hole 62 is closer along a vertical line to the upper edge 69 of the plate than to the lower edge 10.

Due to this eccentric location of the hole 62 with respect to the center of the plate 6|, it may assume four different positions. That is, beside the position shown in Figure 6, the plate may also be turned around while lying in the same plane to a second position while if the plate Ill is reversed it may be given two additional positions. The vertical slots, above referred to, permit vertical adjustment of the plate while in any one of these four positions. This cover plate may be suitably marked across the top and bottom of each face to indicate to the operator the position of the plate relative to the size of attachment being used.

The table and its attachment may be manually rotated as well as power actuated and therefore the hub of gear l3 has been extended and provided with clutch teeth i! adapted to be engaged by clutch teeth 12 formed on the inner end of the axially shiftable handle 13. A spring 14 is interposed between the parts to normally maintain the handle out of operative engagement with the gear [3 and thereby prevent the operator from being injured thereby.

A cover plate #6 is hinged at 11 and 18 to the plate ill to completely enclose the change gear mechanism while permitting ready access thereto. A locking bolt 19 is pivotally attached to the cover plate 16 for swinging through a slot 80 formed in the edge of plate Hi, the end of the bolt being threaded to receive the lock nut 8|. By this means the cover plate may be easily and quickly opened to effect changes in the gears.

In attaching the device to a given machine, selection is first made by means of the marking from the quadrant in accordance with the attachment to be associated therewith and the plate then slid into the drive shaft bracket of the particular attachment. tioned to receive the splined end N5 of the -lead The quadrant is posivon the plate of the proper side to face outward screw in the bore of gear l3 and also centered and supported on the boss 81 formed in the back apron 88. After positioning the quadranton the end of the table, bolts 82 and 83 are passed,

through apertures 84 and 85 and threaded into existing threaded holes in the back apron of the table. These holes are in slightly different locations in different machines and therefore the apertures 8t and 85 are enlarged to cover all conditions. After securing the quadrant in place at the end of the table, the plate 6| is rotatably positioned to align the slots therein with the threaded holes in the plate and bolts 86 threaded in the holes to hold the plate in position.

There has thus been provided a quadrant having universal application to all sizes of milling machines for coupling the lead screw thereof with a table attachment for power actuation; the quadrant containing compensating means whereby one revolution of the attachment drive will be effected for a predetermined travel of the table irrespective of the pitch of the table lead screw. It will be noted that due to this arrangement the change gears necessarytoyield a given speed will be the same irrespective of the machine to which it is attached. It will also be noted that the mechanism is completely enclosed and protected and that a reverse control lever is mounted on the exterior of the housing which adds to the efficiency of the device.

That which is claimed is:

1. In a quadrant for power coupling the rotatable driver of a spiral milling attachment carried by a milling machine table to the actuating screw for the table, the combination of mechanism for imparting one revolution to the attachment during a predetermined travel of the table by its actuating screw irrespective of the pitch thereof, comprising a drive shaft, a rate changer and an attachment serially connected in the order recited, one revolution of said drive shaft corresponding to the travel imparted by one revolution of a lead screw having a predetermined pitch, a compensator for coupling different pitched lead screws to the shaft in ratios in verse to the ratio of the standard pitched lead screw to the other lead screws, said compensator comprising a rotatable plate, an eccentric stud shaft carried by the plate, means to angularly position the plate to vary the location of said stud shaft, different ratio gears applicable to the stud shaft for coupling any pitch of lead screw to the drive shaft to yield a common rate of travel in the table for each revolution of the attachment, a reverser interposed between the compensator and drive shaft for determining the direction of rotation of the attachment, said reverser comprising an auxiliary shaft having spaced gears fixed thereto, one of which is constantly coupled with the compensator, a slidable gear couplet, means to shift selectively one gear screws of different pitch to aspiral milling attachment for imparting one revolution thereto during a simultaneous predetermined linear table travel producible by a lead screw of given pitch, comprising a drive shaft, a rate changer, and an attachment operatively connected in the order recited, a first gear mounted on the drive shaft, a second gear of equal size to the first gear detachably connectible to said lead screw of given pitch for coupling the parts in a one to one ratio, additional gears for coupling lead screws of other pitches to the drive shaft, said other gears having a ratio to the first gear equal to the inverse ratio of the pitch of their respective lead screws to the pitch of the given lead screw, said drive shaft being spaced a fixed distance relative to the lead screw, and an idler gear interposed between said first gear and the lead screw gear, a rotatable plate carried by the quadrant, an eccentric stud shaft carried by the plate for supporting said interposed gears, means to angularly position said plate to vary the position of said interposed gear in accordance with the size of the lead screw gear, and additional means for reversing the rotation of said drive shaft relative to the direction of rotation of the lead screw.

3. In a universal quadrant for coupling different size attachments to a table lead screw of milling machines, said quadrant having a final drive shaft, the combination of a housing for inclosing said drive shaft, said housing having an enlarged aperture for receiving attachment drive shafts located at different heights above the table, a closure plate for said aperture having a hole therein eccentric to both the horizontal and vertical axes of the plate for receiving the attachment drive shaft, said plate being rotatable about either axis to vary the location of said hole, and means to connect the plate to said housing to close said aperture, said connecting means being adjustable whereby movement of the plate in a direction parallel to one of said axes may be made to further vary the location of said hole. 7

4. A universal quadrant for coupling table lead screws of different pitch to different spiral milling attachments carried by the table of a milling machine for actuation thereby comprising means for detachably securing the plate to saidtable, transmission gearing carried by the plate for operatively coupling the lead screw to the attachment driver, a housing enclosing said gearing, said plate having an enlarged aperture for receiving the attachment bracket which carries the attachment drive shaft and which is insert able in said aperture for positioning said drive shaft in operative relation to said gearing, a

closure plate for said aperture having an opening therein through which said bracket is adapted to pass, said opening in the plate being eccentrically positioned with respect to the longitudinal and lateral axes thereof whereby the plate may be rotatably positioned to close said aperture regardless of the position of said bracket with respect to the central axis of said aperture, and means to secure the closure plate to said housing.

HERMAN R. ISLER. 

